It’s a message rammed into us as children — breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

As adults we’re also told skipping breaky doesn’t actually help us lose weight, despite many diets telling you fasting is the way to go.

With so many contradicting theories around, it’s easy to get confused, but a new study shows breakfast skippers might be on to something when it comes to weight loss.

Australian researchers analysed a host of studies that looked at the effect eating breakfast regularly had on weight change and energy intake.

They found people who skipped breakfast consumed less calories and were on average 0.44kg lighter.

The Monash University team in Melbourne say the idea that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” comes from observational studies that can be skewed.

In their study published in the British Medical Journal today they say there is no good evidence to support the idea that eating breakfast promotes weight loss or that skipping breakfast leads to weight gain.

In fact, the findings show that people who eat breakfast have a higher daily calorie intake — an average of 260 more calories consumed in a day — and that skipping the mean does not make you hungrier later in the day.